Four days off proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the Creighton women’s soccer team. Looking to turn their season around after a 1-4-1 start, the Jays (2-4-1) scored a season-high four goals as they defeated Nebraska-Omaha (0-6) 4-1 on Friday night at UNO Soccer Field.
CU’s Brittney Neumann scored twice against UNO (WBR/Ott)
Creighton was the aggressor from the very beginning of the match. They used effective passing and ball-handling to keep UNO on the defensive for most of the first half. Despite being in control, the Jays were locked in a 0-0 tie until the 40th minute when freshman forward Jill Richgels sailed a pass across the field to senior, All-Conference teammate, Brittney Neumann, whose uncontested shot easily beat the Mavericks’ freshman goalkeeper Meaghan Clark for a 1-0 lead late in the first half.
The Mavericks were eager to respond in the second half. With the wind at their backs they kept the ball on Creighton’s side of the field, and forced the Jays to react instead of attack. With the momentum swinging in UNO’s favor, a corner kick in the 59th minute produced a wild scramble in front of CU goalkeeper Katie Jo Swanson. The scramble resulted in UNO’s game-tying goal when senior forward Danielle Archuleta notched her team-leading third goal of the season off one of the many rebounds that occurred during the play.
Unlike the Arizona game, when Creighton failed to respond when scored upon, the Jays wasted little time retaking the lead. It was once again Richgels assisting as her corner kick, one minute and eighteen seconds later, found true freshman midfielder Maddie Nelson in front of the net. Nelson capitalized on her first shot as a Creighton Bluejay, sending the ball passed Clark in the 61st minute for a 2-1 Jays’ lead,
“It was really exciting to get my first goal, to get us through the 1-1, and to help carry us through the rest of the game”, said Nelson after the game.
The scoring did not end there. In the 65th minute, Neumann broke free at midfield after her defender misjudged a great clearout by forward Kelsey O’Donnell. Neumann raced down the field, and scored her second goal of the game when her shot ricocheted off Clark’s outstretched hands and into the net. The goal gave the Jays a 3-1 lead. It was Neumann’s 27th career goal, tying her with Jessica Powers for fourth place on the school’s all-time goals scored list.
When asked about the achievement after the game, Neumann humbly said, “It’s exciting. It’s really cool to accomplish that.”
Sophomore defender Madelyn Buckner added her first collegiate goal to the mix in the 77th minute to give CU its final margin of 4-1.
The four days of rest and preparation clearly paid off with this performance by the Jays. Head Coach Bruce Erickson attributed Creighton’s success to the time off and the depth of his team.
“When you can bring six or seven players on the field it really helps. We spread the minutes around. I thought the quality of the play we brought off the bench really changed the game. That’s what you want out of your subs.”
Neumann felt the time off came at the right moment.
“I definitely think the break helped. We worked on a lot of stuff that we needed to work on. We still have more to work on, but I think having a couple of days to practice and get better as a team helped us a lot,” she said.
The Jays will now head west to take on the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Sunday before starting a four-game home stand on Thursday, September 13, against the UMKC Kangaroos at 7pm at Morrison Stadium.
Game Notes: Freshman Maddie Nelson and Sophomore Madelyn Buckner both scored their first career goals in tonight’s game… Senior Brittney Neumann’s two goals tonight gave her 27 for her career. Tying her with Jessica Powers for fourth-place on CU’s all-time goals scored list. She is now just three goals behind Kalan Malone for third place on that list… Creighton is now 3-1 all-time against Nebraska-Omaha… The final attendance was 645.